Medical writing, career changes, what MedComms actually is, how to get your first job, salaries, freelancing, pharmaceutical social media, and the forbidden allure of laboratory jelly.
In episode 2 of Dramaceuticals, Joe and Sam take a step back after receiving one fairly fundamental piece of feedback from episode 1: who are you, and what actually is MedComms?
From Sam’s route out of a PhD working with tuberculosis to Joe’s escape from veterinary practice via a Google search for “medical work from home”, they unpack the surprisingly wiggly routes that can lead to a career in medical writing.
They explore what medical writers actually do, the different corners of the industry, what agency life looks like day to day, and how clinicians, PhD graduates and scientists can make the move into MedComms.
There’s also practical advice on getting that elusive first job, what makes a CV stand out (and what gets it immediately rejected), salaries and career progression, the realities of freelancing, why social media is becoming increasingly important in pharma, and whether you really need a PhD to get through the door.
We are RubyDuke.co.uk Freelance medical writers who transform science into storytelling. We provide a reliable, brilliant, and expectation-exceeding medical writing service that you can trust.
References & resources:
On MedComms salaries
- We3 Consulting. 2026 We3 MedComms Salary Survey. Available at: https://www.we3consulting.com/2026-we3medcomms-salary-survey.html
On social media in MedComms
- RubyDuke. Social Media in MedComms: what’s changed, what’s allowed, and what works? Available at: https://development.rubyduke.co.uk/replay-social-media-in-medcomms-what-s-changed-what-s-allowed-and-what-works
On LinkedIn for health communicators
- RubyDuke. Leveraging LinkedIn for Health Communicators. Available at: https://development.rubyduke.co.uk/replay-leveraging-linkedin
Acronym Assassin
- MedComms (Medical Communications): The broad field of communicating scientific and medical information to healthcare professionals, patients, the public and other healthcare decision-makers.
- HCP (Healthcare Professional): Doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other professionals involved in healthcare and treatment decisions.
- MedEd (Medical Education): Educational scientific and medical communications, often designed to help healthcare professionals understand diseases, treatments and emerging evidence.
- Brand comms: The more promotional and creative side of medical communications, combining scientific accuracy with marketing and storytelling.
- Veeva: A widely used platform in pharma for managing, reviewing and approving promotional and medical content.
- NICE: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which assesses medicines and other healthcare interventions for use within the NHS in England.
